Travel

Looking for some ideas on what to do outdoors in 2016? Here are sixteen fun and interesting things I think you should consider doing in Nebraska’s outdoor scene in the New Year. Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2016! 1. Enjoy a winter activity in one of our state park lands. 2. Mentor youth in your favorite outdoor activity. 3. Visit a place you’ve never been. 4. Experience living history at a state historical park. 5. Take a back road. 6. Do something you’ve never done, learn a new outdoor skill. 7. Float …

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is inviting the public to ring in the New Year by enjoying a guided hike through one of the state’s scenic state park lands. First Day Hikes are scheduled at six Nebraska parks on New Year’s Day, part of a larger effort of the America’s State Parks alliance. Bob Hanover, assistant parks division administrator, said the hikes are a great way to get outside, enjoy nature, exercise and enjoy time with friends and family. …

I wanted to take this time to extend to you and your family a very Merry Christmas greeting and offer my best wishes during this holiday season! To put you in a festive, outdoor mood, here are a couple of pics of my brother-in-law Dean’s Christmas tree. We call it the “nature tree!” It will be a special holiday period for us to celebrate in the Wagner family with our new grandson Jackson Edward Wagner. Like me, I also hope …

I have a movie that I can’t wait to see. No, it’s not Star Wars. I’m  not a sci-fi guy. I’m a realist. I’m an outdoor guy into the history and lore of the American west and that, of course, includes Nebraska. The movie that I am so anxious to see is The Revenant, Rated R,  starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the 19th century frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass. The Revenant, which opens in theaters on January 8, 2016, is mainly fictional, but was inspired by actual, …

When me and my friends are hunting Canada geese in southeastern Nebraska this time of year, we find ourselves continually staring at the sky. Sure, we are watching the sky intently for flocks of Canada geese flying, but it goes far beyond that. Oh yes, far beyond that. We find ourselves mesmerized by the ever-changing sky here on the Great Plains. And, our Nebraska sky invites you to stare. Some say the sky is our mountains. By staring at the sky, you discover that there are no boundaries or limitations. You can see that …

This past Thanksgiving weekend was a very special one for me and my family. On Saturday, November 28, 2015 at 12:31 p.m., we welcomed into the world a healthy 8 lbs. 1 oz. Jackson Edward Wagner, my first grandchild, woo-hoo! Let me tell you that the immediate relationship or bond between a grandchild and grandparent is a such a special one, it is indescribable! In my view, grandparents act as authority figures and provide unconditional love. They also get to spoil their grandchildren …

Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners and staff are in the midst of the Rooster Roundup — a quest to hunt pheasants on public land throughout Nebraska. The third stop on their journey is described below. The third day of hunting for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Rooster Roundup was located at Davis Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) south of North Loup. Davis Creek has 2,450 acres of walk-in public access available. The first of this hunt series was …

Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners and staff are in the midst of the Rooster Roundup — a quest to hunt pheasants on public land throughout Nebraska. The second stop on their journey is described below. Continuing the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Rooster Roundup, which left off at Sherman Reservoir Wildlife Management Area on Monday, Commissioners Lynn Berggren, Bob Allen, Dick Bell and friend Sam Sampson headed out to the rainwater basin wetlands south of Aurora Thursday morning. An Aurora resident …

When you blog, sometimes the strangest things happen. I still find it hard to believe that a blog I did about Nebraska waterfalls a while back actually became a college class project for a graduate student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha! But, I learned last night that such was the case. Lacey Matney, a grad student in the Master of Science/Urban Studies program at UNO, dropped me an email message indicating that she had turned my blog post on waterfalls into …

My NEBRASKAland magazine duties are a little different than other types of journalism I’ve experienced during my career. With the bulk of the content for our magazine’s print edition being created a year in advance and stories going to press far ahead of each edition’s designated month, it doesn’t leave much room for “last-minute” changes. We all know conditions in Nebraska are susceptible to the whims of Mother Nature. For instance, a photo spread I produced titled “A Short Fall,” …